An Ancient Egyptian faience ushabti, with five horizontal lines of hieroglyphic text.

The ushabti is shown wearing a tripartite wig and a false beard.

Its hands, depicted parallel and in relief, hold an adze and a hoe.

A basket hangs behind him on his left shoulder.

The body has been inscribed with hieroglyphs in linear formation, with five rows of text.

The reverse features a back pillar.

The moulded details remain very well preserved, with very clear facial features and hieroglyphs.

The hieroglyphs transliterate as:

1) i wS(A)bty.w (i)pn (ir) ipt tn

2) Wsi rx NSW s-

3) m ??? It-nTr* Hr(-m)-Ax-bit *or Hm-nTr

4) ms n Irt (i) rw

5) (r irt) kA(.wt)....

The translation of the hieroglyphs reads:

1) Oh these ushabtis if one summons

2) the Osiris, acquaintance of the king, Sem

3) Priest, father of the god ( it-nTr or simply "Priest" Hm-nTr) Hor-em-Akh-bit

4) born of Iretiru

5) (to do all the ) works..."

Size: 14 cm

Period: Late Period to Ptolemaic Period

Material: faience

Condition: Intact

Provenance: Belgium collection early 1980’s - Collection Madame Junot.

Price: € 1.250,—

Transliteration: rḫ nsw.t (literally, “known to the king”).
Meaning: An honorific court title. It doesn’t necessarily mean close personal friendship with the king; rather, it signals that the bearer belonged to the circle of courtiers or officials who had access to the royal court.
Function:
- One of the lowest-ranking honorific titles, but still prestigious enough to place the person in the sphere of the palace.
- Very widespread in the Old and Middle Kingdom, persisting into later periods.
- Could be combined with many other priestly or administrative offices (as in your text).
Use on funerary objects: Ushabtis, stelae, and tomb inscriptions often begin with “the Osiris, the acquaintance of the king, [name]…” as a standard way to situate the deceased in social hierarchy.

Transliteration: sm (Sem).
Meaning: A specific priestly office, usually translated simply as “Sem-priest.”
Function:
- The Sem-priest played a central role in funerary rituals, especially the “Opening of the Mouth” ceremony for the deceased.
- Typically depicted wearing a leopard skin over one shoulder.
- In temple rituals, also involved in purification and offering rites.
Importance:
- The Sem-priest was often the eldest son of the deceased, officiating at his father’s burial.
- Over time, it became a regular priestly office, not just hereditary.
- Because of its strong link to afterlife rites, many officials claimed the Sem-priest title on their funerary monuments.